I am starting a thread about the restoration of my cuda. It is a numbers matching, 1968 formula S fastback. it is a 383 with a four speed. The color is burgandy poly on the outside, and maroon on the inside.

My plan is to put a 572-605 big block in it. it will be an aluminum block as I am trying to get the car as light as possible. It will also have an altercation front suspension and a Dana 60 with 3.73 gears. I will be installing a 5 speed overdrive transmission.

This is my first A Body restoration, I have always wanted to restore an A body, as you can see in my signature I have 2 Chargers and 2 Cuda convertibles. So far, finding the parts to restore this car, has been tougher than any of the other cars. All my other cars have 500" or larger motors and make between 700 and 850 hp. No reason to change that with this car! I drive all of the cars on the street.

I bought the car 2 years ago, and started the body work almost a year ago. I just got it back from the body and paint - so now I am starting to put it back together with all the pieces and parts I have been acquiring over the last 2 years.
Here are some photos of the car when I purchased 3/2011.

couple more....

more..

in primer and starting the body work. i installed:
both rockers
both full quarters
inner fenders
rear valence
one peice trunk
had to make the trunk ext. was'nt avaliable yet
AAR fiberglass deck lid. could not find a good used one. it is VERY nice. it fit perfect. the under side is detailed. i was very impressed with it.
everthing else was good

some more...

here are some pics of it painted. it is the factory color. it is called burgandy poly, i like it...

pass side pics

the body gaps turned out really nice...

i had it painted seperatly, then assembled it after it was painted..

here are some pics of the dash instal..

i had just dashes re-do the dash pads. they turned out nice. the dash bezel is from BEA. mike ross is a good guy to deal with. the bezels were nicer than expected...

another..

here the grills are installed. i had them restored. they started out nice thou..

one more...

here are the tail lights. the bezel and lense are from BEA. again, better than expected.

some of the dash resto...

another

i sent all the gagues out to be re letterd. had them calibrated too. speedometer was rebuilt also. they turned out nice.

i'm working on the window regulators now. got the read pass in. man, what a [Edited by Moparts - Family Friendly Site - Keep it clean]. i buffed all the stainless and installed all the pass side. it really looks nice against the dark color. more pics will be comming.....

Nice work!

Looking great Brian I need to come by for a closer inspection and a ride in that vertible

i've been pluging away on the car lately. i have the windows in. i buffed all the stainless. all the side window stainless is in. all the glass gaps turned out nice. it took awhile thou. i put on some of the emblems too.

the bright stainless looks nice against the dark paint. i'm getting ready to put in the headliner and interior trim. i also will be putting the white lower stripe kit on. i bet that looks nice on the dark paint. i found some of the correct paint,for the interior trim. it is different than the body paint. i will keep the pics coming....

another...

last one..

One of the best looking color combos for one of the best looking Barracudas.
Nice work - you don't see enough of these cars restored!

thanks, new bee. i just ordered a new moser dana 60 w/3.73 gears and disc brakes. should have that in a few days. i will post the pics...

An RB is a tight fit in that...what's your plan for headers?

Great job, very impressed!Love the pics!

Mark

Car looks amazing!

updates...i put the stripes on. they look awesome next to the dark paint. still waiting for my top cat weather striping, for the doors. when that is done, i will start putting the interior in....

also, just got the rear end in today. i ordered a new moser dana 60. it has 3.73 gears, detroit locker and a billet 1350 yoke. this thing is massive. i also got some willwood rear disc brakes with a parking brake.
i will be useing the off set hanger set-up. i had moser weld the perches where i needed them. i'm going to go bolt it in now

another one

the next big thing on the list will be the altercation front end. will be ordering it very soon.
i also don't know what wheels i will be running. i'm not a fan of big "chip foose wheels" i know it works better to have bigger wheels on the front, with the altercation. when it gets closer, i will be asking for everbodys help with opinnions.....

That thing would look really good with recall wheels. Maybe not quite what you have in mind, but the car looks generally stock from the outside, and might look pretty good with some stock looking wheels. You might even be able to get recalls in a variety of sizes / widths.
The other option I would consider is Torque Thrusts or some other day-two wheels from the 1960s.

the rear end is in. looks bad ass. nothing like a dana 60, under an a-body .i need rear shocks now. what is a good shock for a 4 speed car, with 850 plus horsepower. it will be mainly a street car, so ride is important.

i was thinking some qa1,s or bilstiens. what say you guys?

Yummy!

It's been awhile....moving on the 'cuda. All together now, with wheels and tires. It has a hemi Denny coil over front suspension in it. Man, is that thing nice! The room it is going to give me to be able to work on this thing, is more than worth the price! I have been keeping tabs, and when all done I will give a final cost to build, if anyone is interested.

I have also have started on the motor. Should be about 900-950 hp. the motor specs:

601 cubic inch
Indy aluminum RB block
4.550" bore
4.625 stroke callies crank
Indy 572-13 heads head porter says about 410-420 cfm. we will see on that one...
13.5 cr
oliver 7.100 rods
cam motion solid roller 288-290 @.050 .800" with 1.7 Jessel rockers
Isky e-z roll max bushed lifters

I am hoping to have the car weigh about 3200 lbs. It is a 4 speed car as well. Should be a wild ride!!!

When the motor dynoes I will post the results.

here are a few pics....




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Your going too need more back tire......

I know....it now has a 275/60/15. I need some wheel spin. if not I will keep breaking the 18 spline trans. ask me how I know.....